In North America it occurs at high elevations as far south as Utah and Colorado.

In general, it forms a tuft of grasslike stems and leaves up to 80 or 90 centimeters tall.

In more southerly regions it occurs near streams and lakes.

[5] It grows in water or saturated substrates, but sometimes in drier sites like meadows.

It may be associated with bluejoint reedgrass (Calamagrostis canadensis), tufted hairgrass (Deschamsia caespitosa), variableleaf pondweed (Potamogeton gramineus), subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa), lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta), Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii), and quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides).